The subject invention relates to error location and correction apparatus and methods particularly useful for locating and correcting multiple symbols in error.
Error detection and correction apparatus and methods have been used in connection with data processing and affiliated operations for ensuring high data integrity necessary for achieving precise and correct results. Included in these error detection and correction procedures are so-called cyclic block codes, such as described by Bose et al, supra. The block codes can either be to the base 2 (binary) or to some other base (nonbinary). In a preferred implementation of the present invention, nonbinary BCH codes are used, no limitation thereto intended.
A particular application of the invention relates to utilization of data storage in a storage medium. In general, data to be recorded in the storage medium is subjected to encoding procedures which append a plurality of check characters to the data to be recorded. There are two check characters for each symbol to be corrected. For example, if three symbols are to be detected, six check characters are used. The six check characters are the remainder polynomial produced by dividing X.sup.6 I(x) by the code's generator polynomial; I(x) is the data signal sequence being encoded for error detection and correction. The six check characters are a single remainder R(x) resulting from the division process.
Locating one symbol in error follows known straightforward techniques. However, when multiple symbols, particularly more than two symbols in error, are desired to be corrected in a set of data signals, then error location procedures and apparatus can become unduly complicated. Considerable time may be required for locating the symbols in error. In a storage medium, it is highly desirable that the location and correction of errors occur in a time period not exceeding the elapsed time required for reading a set of data signals from a record medium. This imposes severe constraints on the designer in that costs have to be carefully controlled. One example of an attempt for reducing time in location errors is a so-called "Chien" search. The Chien search is an algorithmic approach which, on the average, can locate errors rather rapidly. However, there are worst case situations wherein the time consumed for error location may cause the error correction apparatus to take more time than the transmission time of one data set. Accordingly, the Chien search is not satisfactory for the purposes enunciated above. In avoiding the Chien search, one of the difficulties in error location is the solution of simultaneous nonlinear equations, there being one equation for each of the roots to be identified. The solution to the simultaneous equations and the calculations of the roots for generating error location symbols must proceed in a predetermined manner such that elapsed time for both error locations and error correction can be predicted with certainty for achieving error location and correction within one transmission cycle. It is also desirable to use the same mechanisms for error correction irrespective of the number of symbols in error.